Journey to the Past
by Sirius K
Summary: Scorpius Malfoy has big plans: find a boy to pass off as the lost Albus Potter and cash in on the reward money. But what's he to do when this boy named Al captures his heart, and seems to be the real deal? Based on the movie Anastasia. Mild slash SM/ASP


Author's Note: This is something I've wanted to write for a while, and finally I've nabbed onto the inspiration to do it. (Being extremely busy with grad school and needing to procrastinate may have something to do with it.) It's based off of "Anastasia," and I'm trying to keep everything and everyone in character, so it's not really an AU. The first chapter's kid of short but I hope you enjoy it. I think it's going to be a great deal of fun!

Content: Eventual Slash, but mild.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Anastasia.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: A Rumor in Diagon Alley<strong>

It was nearly six years ago that it happened. The first of September was a day that was always special, and we were all so happy.

My youngest boy, Albus Severus, was eleven years old and on his way to his first year at Hogwarts. Nerves and excitement filled the entire Platform 9 3/4 and I knew that he was going to make me proud. The train whistled departure time, my son waved to me from the window of his compartment in the third car, and I watched happily as he disappeared from sight. It was supposed to be a time of peace.

We were foolish to think so. Dark magic was at work. Dark magic that I thought I had helped abolish nearly two decades ago was festering beneath the surface of our peaceful little world. A curse had been placed, woven into our lives. Our destinies. Now, after all this time, it was ready to rise back to the surface. Even now I don't believe that the time and place was a coincidence. This was a curse meant to hit the wizarding world where it would hurt the most.

Most families had started to move out, single parents apparating, those with younger kids, like mine, waiting in line to slip out the platform into King's Cross. We were still several groups back when an explosion rumbled the entire platform. Many people screamed. I ran out onto the tracks and saw something that made my blood run cold.

"The train!" someone screamed.

The Hogwarts Express had stopped barely miles from the platform and a bright, emerald green explosion erupted around it. As myself and many other trained Aurors dashed forward to help, the light took the shape of a giant, monstrous snake that bore down on the train, engulfing it entirely. Green flames and black smoke surrounded the crimson body. Within range of the train's protective charms, I apparated the rest of the way, next to the train. It was even worse close up. The train had been twisted, much of it thrown onto its side. Children ran screaming, those that weren't already lifeless on the ground that is. Older students tried to block the flames and get the younger ones out as quickly as possible. I was probably shouting orders as I ran past the ruined cars, but I can't remember what I might have said. My focus was on getting to the third car.

"Albus!" I called jumping inside. This car had mostly cleared out already. "James!" No answer from either of my sons. I heard a creak and jumped back just as the roof above me caved in. It was too dangerous to stay, but I couldn't give up on my boys. So I threw on an additional shied charm and kept going. "Albus! James! Answer me!"

"Rose. Rose! Wake up!"

I heard Ron's voice outside. Were Albus and James with their cousin? There was no sign of them in the car, so I ran out against all hope, but was met with a horrible sight. Among chaos of people trying to gather students and help the injured I saw Ron curled around the unmoving body of a little redheaded girl. And not from him, half buried under debris from the turned train, I saw the unmistakable form of my oldest son, James. Words cannot describe the devastation I felt in that moment.

I do not remember much about that day past that moment, except for the echo of an evil laugh that blew past gently with the wind, and the Dark Mark that shined in the sky above the smoking train, well into the night.

The Hogwarts Express was only one of many targets that day. Other wizarding schools had suffered similar fates, and many of my friends and colleagues lost children in the aftermath. The people who we had worked so hard to build a better world for taken from us in less than an hour's time.

Once the enchantment had worn off, my son James Sirius Potter was dead, and my niece, Rose Weasley was in a coma, confined to St. Mungo's hospital with many other children. But I never found out the fate of Albus. His body was not recovered, nor any sign of his remains except for his trunk. Against all odds in the following years, I couldn't help but hope that somehow, he had survived the attack, and was out there, alive.

-Six Years Later-

Seventeen-year-old Scorpius Malfoy walked through the streets of Diagon Alley, holding on tightly to a worn down leather. He carried himself with confidence that made his second-hand robes look particularly dapper, and an idea that made him feel particularly smart.

Rumors around town were that Harry Potter, one of the great hero's of the last wizarding war, was looking for his son, Albus. Now that was all swell, but what intrigued Scorpius was the large reward money that came with the deliverance of the boy. Now Scorpius had grown up a fairly privileged boy, his family living off inherited money and a general sense of pride, but all that changed when he was eleven. An act of dark magic attacked the Hogwarts Express, killing hundreds of students on their way to school. Scorpius's parents were taken into custody thanks to a long ago connection to the Death Eaters, and Scorpius had lived a rather humble lifestyle since then.

The second he turned seventeen Scorpius dropped out of school, able to make a living through... let's call it "deception". But the prospect of being able to live comfortably without all the work? Now that was appealing.

The plan was a simple one, and even he had to admit, probably not all that original. He was going to find a boy to pretend to be Albus Potter. His actor would get to live the grand lifestyle of a great wizard family, and Scorpius would be rolling in the galleons that the Potter family would throw at him in return. Everyone would win! Of course the plot was not without its share of difficulties. The problems he faced at present were twofold. First he had to find a convincing actor. Second, he had to make sure they stood out among all the other boys who would surely step forward as the lost son, Albus Potter.

Clutching the bag in his hand, he smirked. The second problem, he was proud to say, he had just solved.

Tiny bells jingles and Scorpius strolled into the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes Joke Shop. Young children and older parents browsed cheerfully, but there were few in the age in between. Since the attack, people Scorpius's age were hard to come by. It was therefore difficult to forget how lucky a person he was, but rather than brood about it, Scorpius thought it an advantage in life. If he'd been that lucky before, surely he could be lucky in just about everything.

"Hello, Mr. Weasley!" Scorpius waved at the middle aged, ginger haired man working the counter. He looked up and smiled back.

"Welcome back, Mr. Powell."

Scorpius jumped behind the counter and through a door that led to a staircase. He climbed.

Since being on his own, Scorpius had learned that the name "Malfoy" was not well received on the streets. "Scorpius Powell" though not completely unassuming, worked well enough to get him though the days, and keep a little loft bedroom above the joke shop. Once there, he jumped onto his bed and opened his bag. He pulled out a long, thin box and set it carefully on the bed. This was his ticket in.

Scorpius opened the box and pulled out its contents, examining it.

A wand. Ten and one-third inches, Hazelwood, unicorn hair. It had an owner, a distinct magical scent, however old and faint it was. Scorpius had been holding onto it for years...

_-Flashback-_

Eleven-year-old Scorpius sat in an empty compartment on the Hogwarts Express. The train was just starting to depart from the station when two other first years burst in, a dark haired boy and a little ginger haired girl. They ran strait past him to the window, waving to their families. As the train pressed forward, Scorpius figured he might as well follow suit and inched to the window. His father gave a short, dignified wave from the platform. Scorpius returned it.

Finally out of sight from the platform, the boy and girl sat down opposite Scorpius. He fidgeted uncomfortably as the two children smiled kindly at him.

"You're a first year too?" the girl said. "I'm Rose Weasley, and this is my cousin."

"Albus Potter." The dark haired boy said.

"Potter?" Scorpius said, surprised. "Not as in 'Harry Potter'?"

The two looked at each other, clearly befuddled.

"What do you mean?"

"What are you two, daft? Harry Potter is-"

That's when a deep rumble shook the train, ending all chatter. It halted and for just a second, all was silent. Then in a great explosion, everything seemed to erupt in green flames and black smoke. Scorpius was thrown sideways. The other two screamed. The glass burst from the window. Scorpius was thrown under the seats and a trunk had fallen from above, blocking his way out.

Immediately the unbearable heat of the green flames hit him and the thick smoke attacked him. He coughed, unable to breathe, and his eyes watered. He tried to call out for help but couldn't muster the voice.

"Rose!"

Purple sparks from somewhere. Scorpius kicked at the trunk, moving it enough to see the Rose topple out of the window, and Albus with his wand out, clearly not knowing what to do with it. Another explosion, more black smoke, a purple flash and Albus was gone, along with the entire side of their car, which had been scraped open.

Unable to reach his own, Scorpius reached out for the wand that had been left behind, hoping to use it somehow to get out. His fingers barely grasped it when the heat and smoke became too much for him. He passed out.

The next thing Scorpius knew, he was on the grass among other crying kids. He'd lasted long enough to register the wreck of the train in the distance, and the chaos around him, and the unfamiliar wand in his hand, before blacking out once more.

_-End Flashback-_

When he came to again, Scorpius was being tended to by a private nurse in his own home. Shortly after that his parents were taken into custody and his life changed drastically. He'd kept the extra wand a secret, though never thought much about it, until the rumors began spreading. After that, he'd immediately snuck back into his old manor (it was abandoned now), retrieved the wand from his hidden spot behind a bookshelf, and had it refurbished by talented yet secretive man in Knockturn Alley who would show nobody his face.

The wand, with the undeniable magical signature of Albus Potter, was his key to easy street. If he could just find the right boy to play the part...

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><p>AN: And there we have it! In the next chapter expect to see more of Scorpius and George Weasley, as well as out first glimpse at the mysterious boy, Al.


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